This book made me cry at the end when you read the prologue its like a romantic history all mixed together. ( )

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

This book is one in the My Story series. The books in this series are fictional diaries of young girls living during different periods of British, Scottish, and Irish history.

Phyllis McCormack, called Phylly, is a fourteen-year-old girl living in Ireland in 1845. Her family is better off than most poor Irish farm families. Phylly even has a job as a maid at the landlord's estate. But when a terrible disease attacks the potato crop, Phylly's family suffers as much as everyone else. Phylly fights to keep her spirits up through her family's struggle for survival and even experiences the wonder of first love, recording everything that happens in her diary.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical diaries. If you love Dear America, you are sure to love the My Story series. The setting is fascinating, the diary format appealing, and Phylly's character is very likeable. ( )